Andy Mulumba's long journey continues to Packers' 53-man roster

Green Bay —Andy Mulumba has come a long ways from the Republic of Congo.

The outside linebacker doesn’t like to talk about his past, about how violent his home country was. But it was rough. He'd like to leave those memories behind. And all along, he never imagined making it to the NFL.

“No, not really,” Mulumba said Saturday evening. “I never really thought about it. It was a recent dream. I started watching it when I was in college and just worked for it.”

As written in training camp, Mulumba took a unique path to Ray Nitschke Field. From a childhood stuck in the middle of the Second Congo War, to Montreal, Canada at the age of 12 to Eastern Michigan, he landed on Green Bay's 90-man roster. Mulumba admits he didn’t even realize how popular the game of football was until 2008, 2009. Now, he’s on the 53-man roster. The Packers decided to keep the raw 6-foot-3, 260-pound outside linebacker on the team, rolling the dice on upside.

Mulumba and sixth-rounder Nate Palmer both made the team over Dezman Moses, who played nearly 64% of the time late last season.

Leading up to Saturday's 5 p.m. deadline, Mulumba tried to relax. Cooking out, watching TV, he caught himself checking updates “every hour.” Yet that call from the Packers never came.

Now, he has a chance to make it in the NFL.

“For the final decision, I really didn’t know what to expect,” Mulumba said. “I never really thought what they were thinking upstairs but it just worked out well.”

The turning point, Mulumba acknowledges, was probably when he proved he can be physical and shed linemen at this level. While athletic — with arguably the best frame among all young pass rushers on the team — Mulumba also was not overwhelmed by offensive tackles. He credits outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene for his development to this point.

“I’ve grown a lot," Mulumba said. "I’ve used my ability to be physical. That’s what (Greene) put the emphasis on. He tried to teach me to be more physical and get rid of those O-Linemen, rushing the passer. He has a good understanding of that technique. He did when he was playing so he tries to teach it to us.”

Mulumba didn't let a knee injury sideline him too long in camp and finished with seven tackles and one sack in the preseason. Green Bay apparently saw enough signs to suggest Mulumba is "tracking," as Greene likes to say.

At St. Louis, he closed fast to take down Rams running back Benny Cunningham for a 2-yard loss. That same game, he ripped past former first-round pick Chris Williams to sack Kellen Clemens.

The Packers have given undrafted players a shot at outside linebacker before. Finding a complement for Clay Matthews has been a journey since the 3-4 defense arrived in 2009. Green Bay is willing to see if Mulumba could develop into such a player.

"I still have a lot to learn," Mulumba said, "so we’ll see how it goes. ...I’ll do my best to help this defense out, that’s for sure.”

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.